The Lady Bears are the first of two consecutive Top 10 foes that the Bulls will face this week.
TAMPA (Nov. 30, 2020) – The University of South Florida women’s basketball team returns to the Yuengling Center hardwood for the second time in the past four days, as the Bulls get ready to butt heads with No. 4/4 Baylor on Tuesday. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen live on ESPN+.
Tuesday also marks the first of back-to-back Top 10 contests that USF will play this week, ending with No. 6/7 Mississippi State on Saturday at 7 p.m.
GAME TWO | TUE., DEC. 1 | 7 P.M. | YUENGLING CENTER, TAMPA, FLA.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: ESPN+ ($)
Jim Louk (PxP), Leah Secondo (Analyst)
Audio: Bulls Unlimited (iHeartRadio/GoUSFBulls.com)
Darek Sharp (PxP), Brigid Merenda (Analyst)
Live Stats: GoUSFBulls.com/StatBroadcast
Series: Baylor leads series, 3-0
Twitter Updates: @USFWBB
Tickets: No fans during nonconference schedule
RV/RV USF BULLS | 1-0
Last Game: Nov. 28 vs. Jacksonville
Next Game: Dec. 5 vs. No. 6/7 Mississippi St., 7 p.m.
Head Coach: Jose Fernandez
Alma Mater: FIU, 1994
Career Record: 374-272 (21st season)
at USF: Same
NO. 4/4 BAYLOR LADY BEARS | 1-0
Last Game: Nov. 25 vs. Central Arkansas, W, 82-37
Next Game: Dec. 6 vs. Arkansas, 5 p.m.
Head Coach: Kim Mulkey
Alma Mater: Louisiana Tech, 1984
Career Record: 605-101 (21st season)
at Baylor: Same
QUICK HITS
– Tuesday marks the beginning of a big week for the Bulls, starting with No. 4/4 Baylor visiting the Yuengling Center on Dec. 1 … Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. (ESPN+) … The Bulls then welcome No. 6/7 Mississippi State on Dec. 5 (7 p.m., ESPN+).
– The game with Baylor is the second of now three nonconference games that USF will play … The Bulls’ game against Stetson on Dec. 13 has been canceled due to COVID-19 issues within the Hatters’ program.
– The Bulls are coming off an impressive 84-46 win over instate foe Jacksonville on Nov. 28 … Kristyna Brabencova poured in a career high 18 points while Beatriz Jordao posted her second career double-double, with 12 points and a career high 14 rebounds.
– USF opened the 2020-21 season receiving votes in both the Associated Press and USA Today/WBCA Top 25 polls … The Bulls earned one point in the Preseason AP and nine points in the Coaches Poll.
TICKET INFORMATION
– USF Athletics announced for the 2020-21 men’s and women’s basketball seasons presented by Tampa General Hospital to begin without fans in attendance in the Yuengling Center … USF will not have fan attendance in the Yuengling Center when the Bulls open play and will continue that policy through the nonconference season slated to run through at least Dec. 15.
– Athletics and the university will continue to review fan attendance policies for the remainder of the 2020-21 basketball season to evaluate the possibility of limited fan attendance of future home dates if deemed appropriate by state, local and university officials … A limited number of players’ and coaches’ family members will be admitted via pass list to attend home games in person.
UP NEXT FOR USF
– USF will get back to work on Saturday, Dec. 5 when No. 6/7 ranked, Mississippi State visits the Yuengling Center for the third of the Bulls three currently scheduled nonconference games, all at home.
– Following Mississippi State, USF was slated to take on instate foe Stetson, on Sunday, Dec. 13, however that game was canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test result within the Hatters’ program.
– After the meeting with Mississippi State, USF’s next currently scheduled game will mark the Bulls’ American Athletic Conference opener at Memphis on Wednesday, Dec. 16.
SCOUTING BAYLOR
– Baylor comes into its game with the USF with a 1-0 record following its lopsided 82-37 win over Central Arkansas to start the season on Nov. 25 … NaLyssa Smith and Caitlin Bickle each recorded double doubles with Smith logging game highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds … Bickle chipped in with 14 points and 11 boards … Hannah Gusters (13), DiJonai Carrington (11) and Moon Ursin (10) also scored in double figures.
– Tuesday is the first of three road games for the Lary Bears … Following the game with the Bulls, Baylor will face Arkansas on Sunday, Dec. 6 in Fayetteville before opening up Big 12 play at West Virginia on Dec. 10.
THE SERIES AGAINST THE BEARS
– Tuesday’s game with Baylor will be the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools with the Lady Bears holding a 3-0 series lead.
– The last time USF and Baylor met was just last season, in Waco, Texas, when No. 2/2 ranked Baylor toughed out a 58-46 win on Nov. 19, 2019, over the No. 22/23 Bulls … Bethy Mununga poured in a career-high 16 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double in her first five games … Elisa Pinzan had 14 points in USF’s first road test.
LAST TIME OUT
– Kristyna Brabencova led all scorers with a career and game high 18 points, and Beatriz Jordao dropped in 12 points and grabbed a career high 14 rebounds as the USF women’s basketball team dominated Jacksonville, 84-46, in its season opener.
– Brabencova paced four players in double digits on the day as the Bulls won their seventh straight season opener, and their 14th win all-time over the Dolphins (14-0) … Joining Brabencova and Jordao in double figures were Sydni Harvey with 14 points and Elisa Pinzan with 11 points.
– In addition to the double-figure scorers, Bethy Mununga joined Beatriz Jordao in the double-figure rebounding column, grabbing 11 boards.
– USF received balanced scoring with nine of the 12 players that saw the court finding the scoring column, while the Green and Gold assisted on 29 of their 32 field goals made … Defensively, the Bulls held Jacksonville to no more than 15 points in any quarter during the game.
– The Bulls shot 44.4 percent (32-of-72) from the field and 34.4 (11-of-32) from behind the three-point arc, and outrebounded the Dolphins, 54-30.
DOUBLE DIPPING
– Beatriz Jordao got her 2020-21 campaign off to an impressive being banged up during the 2019-20 season … Jordao recorded her second career double-double – and the first since her collegiate debut at Ohio State on Nov. 6, 2018 – with a 12-point and a career high 14-rebound performance against Jacksonville on Nov. 28.
– Jordao’s only other double-double was a 17-point, 10-rebound outing against the Buckeyes in a 71-47 rout.
DROPPIN’ DIMES
– The Bulls were feeling especially giving during Thanksgiving week as they handed out 29 assists in their season opener against Jacksonville on Nov. 28 … The 29 dimes marked USF’s seventh most in a single game in program history … The Bulls also handed out 29 against; FIU (Nov. 30, 2016), Grambling (Dec. 18, 2008), and Stetson (Dec. 3, 1983).
– Elena Tsineke and Mihaela Lazic accounted for 12 of the Bulls’ 29 assists … Tsineke dished out a career high seven assists while Lazic’s five also marked a career-best.
USF TABBED FIRST IN PRESEASON AAC POLL
– USF has been picked to finish atop the American Athletic Conference this season in the league’s preseason coaches’ poll … It marks the first time in program history that the Bulls have been selected first in a preseason conference poll.
– The Bulls earned the top spot with 98 total points and eight of the 11 first-place votes … UCF (79) was picked to finish second and Tulane (78) third, while Cincinnati (73) and Temple (57) round out the top five teams in the preseason poll … Wichita State (54), Houston (49) and Memphis (40) were slotted sixth through eighth, respectively, with East Carolina (36), SMU (31) and Tulsa (10) rounding out the bottom three teams … UCF (1) and Cincinnati (2) were the only two other schools to earn first place votes.
– During the first seven years of The American, the Bulls were picked second five times (2014-15, 2015-16, 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20), behind previous AAC member, UConn, which was selected first all seven seasons … USF finished third in 2013-14 and 2016-17.
TSINEKE, PINZAN EARN ALL-AAC HONORS
– In addition to the Bulls being picked first in The American preseason poll, sophomore guard Elena Tsineke and junior guard Elisa Pinzan were recognized by the league’s coaches, being named to the AAC Preseason All-Conference Second Team … Both players were also honored at the conclusion of the 2019-20 campaign.
– Tsineke, the team’s top returning scorer from a year ago, averaged 12.4 points per game in 2019-20 and 12.6 points per outing in AAC games, en route to being named The American Freshman of the Year, Third Team All-Conference and to the AAC All-Freshmen Team.
– Tsineke shot 37.3 percent (115-307) from the field and hit 44 of her 138 shots from behind the three-point arc (31.9 percent), while also leading The American in free-throw shooting percentage, hitting 88.2 percent (60-for-68) from the charity stripe … She tallied double figures in 18 games on the year in 27 games played, and poured in 20-or-more points four times during her rookie campaign, including a career-high 25 points in a dominating 99-51 win over Temple.
– Pinzan established herself as one of the top point guards in The American during the 2019-20 campaign, while joining Tsineke as an All-Conference Third Team selection at the end of the year … She averaged 9.0 points per game, 4.5 assists per outing, and 2.9 rebounds per contest, in 27 games, including 24 starts … Despite missing five games during the season due to an ankle injury, Pinzan was the conference leader in assists per game, and was fourth in total assists (121) … In addition, she scored in double figures in 10 games on the year and handed out five-or-more assists 14 times.
MUNUNGA NAMED TO KATRINA MCCLAIN PRESEASON WATCH LIST
– Bethy Mununga is one of 20 players to be named to the Katrina McClain Watch List as the top power forward in America, as given by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association … Mununga is the lone representative of the American Athletic Conference.
– Mununga proved to be one of the top post players in The American, during her first season with the Bulls, after transferring from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M … She was third on the team in scoring, averaging 9.2 points per game, and tops in rebounding, grabbing 10.1 boards per contest … Mununga’s rebounds per game average was second in The American, along with her total rebounds (292), in addition to being ranked 32nd and 36th in the nation, respectively … She averaged 3.8 offensive rebounds per game, good enough for second in The American and 26th in the nation.
FERNANDEZ WITHIN REACH OF MILESTONE: #400 CAREER WINS
– Jose Fernandez enters the 2020-21 season – his 21st as a head coach – within reach of a milestone victory … Fernandez boasts a 373-272 career coaching record on the with the Bulls, just 27 wins shy of his 400th career win … Fernandez won his 350th game on Feb. 23, 2019, when the Bulls defeated Wichita State in the Yuengling Center, 55-46.
– Coming into the season, only 140 coaches (with a minimum of 10 years in Division I) have reached the 400-win marker.
FERNANDEZ AMONG THE AMERICAN’S ELITE
– Fernandez also comes into the season as one of the elite coaches in the history of The American … Entering his 21st season, the Miami native is second all-time in overall wins – only trailing UConn head coach Geno Auriemma (252) – while coaching in the AAC with 162 victories, and is sixth all-time in winning percentage (67.8 percent, 162-77); third among head coaches with 100 or more games coached in the conference.
– In addition, in career American Athletic Conference league games, Fernandez is third all-time in conference wins with 83, and tied for third in conference winning percentage (70.3 percent, 83-35); second with over 100 games coached in the AAC.
USF & ESPN
The American Athletic Conference and ESPN begin a new 12-year television rights agreement this season that will see nearly all men’s and women’s games available for viewing either via traditional linear networks or digitally through ESPN+. Subscriptions for the ESPN+ app are $5.99 monthly or $49.99 annually and can be packaged with Hulu and Disney+ streaming services.
A step-by-step guide for subscribing to ESPN+ is located here.
About USF Women’s Basketball
To stay up-to-date on the latest USF women’s basketball news, follow the Bulls on social media (Twitter | Facebook | Instagram).
USF notched its ninth consecutive 19-win season and was poised for its ninth straight postseason appearance in 2019-20 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the end of the college basketball season. The Bulls celebrated two all-conference honorees in Elena Tsineke and Elisa Pinzan. Tsineke was named the American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year, in addition to The American All-Freshman Team and Third Team All-Conference; while Pinzan was named a Third Team All-Conference selection.
USF has made 15 postseason tournament appearances and had six NCAA Tournament berths in head coach Jose Fernandez’s 20 seasons. The all-time winningest coach in program history, Fernandez has guided USF to nine 20-win seasons, two WNIT final four appearances, the 2009 WNIT championship and won more than 350 games.
– #GoBulls –
